As the owner and operator of iconic Sydney gin Mecca The Barber Shop, Mikey stays at the sharp end of the industry through innovation and the ability to diversify his brand to areas that compliment his style and the ever-changing nature of the drinks game.

Mikey chose 1901 – The year that King C. Gillette and William Emerson Nickerson founded the American Safety Razor Company to begin mass-producing safety razors.

You need to be as sharp as a razor to stay ahead of the game in the bar industry. Mikey has added shaving accessories, an actual barbershop or two and a traditional British boozer to his bow in recent months and his embracing of the latest technology in a Rotary Evaporator is testament to a mission to offer his guests something different.

“They’re not cheap. So it’s a $15, 000 plus piece of kit. Generally what you use them for is to extract the flavour and turn it into a distillate. So we use it for a whole range of things – to do all our distillates, which essentially are our tinctures – we’ve got like 25 different tinctures that we can add to Martinis in The Barbershop. With Cherry Heering, I wanted to recreate a Gimlet, you know, going off The GilletteCocktail,Chicago style. So rather than using cordial, I’m using lime and sugar. I wanted the natural cherry notes the Cherry Heering deliver but rather than using just Cherry Heering, I Rotary Evaporated the liqueur extracting the colour to transform it into a clear liquid. It pretty much tastes the same and even the sweetness carries through the process.”

While embracing cutting edge technologies and techniques, Mikey is adamant that without a solid foundation of core bar skills and knowledge the danger of over complicating the customer experience is very real.

“I actually think you need a good six months to a year as a bar-back first. And then you need two years, definitely of cocktail bartender experience. I personally think that you need to work in quite a few different types of bars. You know, work in a good restaurant bar, a large-scale hotel bar, beach clubs etc.”

“You know, the experience you get out of all those different styles of bars, I think rounds you as a career bartender. Moving forward I also think it’s a huge advantage to try to move into management before you kind of go past your sell by date. In terms of, you can’t bartend forever. So make sure you make the transition into management sooner, rather than later in your career. I think that’s a good thing because you get real good knowledge of the business side. This is especially important if you potentially want to open your own venue. That’s the next step really – opening your own venue. That’s the real challenge I think. It’s always a funny story listening to young bartenders saying.Oh I’m gonna open my own bar next year.And they’ve been in the industry for like two years. And you’re thinking Wow. I love your style, I love your enthusiasm, but that’s a big call.”

Regardless of his extensive experience in the industry, Mikey felt like he was starting again from scratch when he opened The Barber Shop. His mission of constantly evolving and innovating classic ideas closely resembled the Cherry Heering story. His Bicentenary cocktail exemplifies this marriage of old ideas executed in a modern technological way – bringing the past into the future.

Mika Koivula is the Founder, Partner & Head Bartender at Son Of A Punch, a cocktail consultancy and events company which is pushing the boundaries of the cocktail and hospitality industry in Helsinki and helping to put it on the map globally whilst paying particular attention to those who work in it.

Aptly for a Finish native who’s no doubt poached in Cherry Heering, Mika chose 1887 – The year when Kämp hotel, the oldest hotel in Helsinki, opened its doors. The bar at the Kämp has always been one of the pioneers of the cocktail scene of Finland. They had high quality products in their bar even back in the early days when Champagne was the drink of choice. Kämp brought mixed drinks and cocktails to Helsinki in 1913 and Mika’s cocktail is a homage to the idea that heritage institutions like Kämp & Cherry Heering continue to be both relevant and modern today.

“My earliest Cherry Heering experience is still one of my favorite cocktails – Remember the Maine. The first time I had it was in Callooh Callay in London, and I absolutely fell in love with its flavours of chocolate and cherry working together with dry rye whiskey. Remember the Maine has been my choice for a night cap ever since.”

Prohibition was instituted across Finland between 1919 and 1932 and the Kämp hotel made do by hiding Estonian liquor in the famous Room 34 while it was “under renovation”and serving it to its grateful guests in secret. Thankfully, the modern Finnish bar industry is in good health and there is a growing movement to sustain it.

Sustainability is crucial to Mika. Environmental concerns such as the problem of single use straws and the Trash Tiki movement are good examples of trends that he is passionate about but it is the mental and physical health of bartenders that is of particular focus to him.

“We established our own bar in 2012 called Liberty Odets. When you have your own bar, you’re 20 something years old, and everything is super cool

– It’s the best bar in the city, you work really hard long days, everyday and then you go out after work everyday and party. It’s not sustainable in the long term. ”

“We have a pretty young industry in Helsinki and because of that it can be a super outgoing, sexy, cool industry but it was always seen as a short term party job for bartenders. It’s only now that we’re seeing the changes starting to happen because ours is the first generation to figure out that it can be a career for life. It’s not just for a five or ten-year path but maybe a 30 or 40 year career. The party lifestyle might be fine in the short term but if I want to stay healthy or if I want to still work when I’m 50, then I have to try to keep myself in a good condition.I found my wife and she helped me to look at my lifestyle in a new way.”

Bartender and bar-staff burnout through alcohol and drug miss-use is a common problem in our industry and Mika sees both bar owners and Brand Ambassadors as crucial in changing the culture and becoming more health focused.

“I would say that bar owners can help people out of that short term mind-set by being role models and looking after their staff. It’s also important for the brands to show that they are being responsible by employing Brand Ambassadors who aren’t always the last ones in the bar and are socially responsible, especially as they are looked upon as role models by many young bartenders. They are globally known representatives of brands who have a responsibility and a duty of care to their staff and customers so their input into the health and wellbeing of bar teams can be crucial in forming opinion. It is, after all a fact that you are more likely to achieve more and achieve it faster if you have a clear mind. One important tip is to have hobbies outside the industry in order to have a more balanced life.”

Mika sees the bar industry as an opportunity for a long and interesting career which requires taking care of himself and his team. He has just started a new agency called Mikoi Consulting and is on his way to promoting best practice in both hospitality and sustainability throughout the industry in Finland. In the meantime, like Cherry Heering the nightlife and the next generation of staff who work in it can look forward to a long fulfilling career through the skill, advice and mentoring of people like Mika.

Maurizio Stocchetto believes that tradition is experience that becomes art – part of a story that remains fresh no matter how many times it’s told.

As a typical artists’ son, Maurizio Stocchetto has big shoes to fill, a legacy that deserves to be respected and preserved. He sees bartending as an art form practised in the bar: that microcosm of new and age-old stories. His father, Mirco, invented one of the most iconic Italian-style drinks in the world, the Negroni Sbagliato [Bungled Negroni]. Perhaps the most fortuitous accident in bartending history, it put the bartending dynasty’s Bar Basso in Milan, and its Negroni Sbagliato, on the map. It’s not hard to recognise Stocchetto, the current face of Bar Basso in Milan. His disarming smile greets you as you walk into his bar: a smile named Maurizio.

Bar Basso’s atmosphere is sufficiently retro to transport you back in time. The large, traditional glasses that Bar Basso uses to serve its Negronis are a source of admiration and obvious wonder to those used to seeing the drink in a classic tumbler. Memorabilia of bygone times, including bottles and keepsakes from a long history of bartending, are on display. Maurizio remembers his father as a protagonist of the Italian bartending tradition that was part of the renowned international “Dolce Vita” era. And Bar Basso has a proud place in the history books, thanks to the creation of the Negroni.

What does Bar Basso mean to Milan and to you?

It’s my home, it always has been and it always will be. We take you back in time – Maurizio explains-to a time that my father successfully transported from Cortina d’ Ampezzo to Milan when he took over this bar, turning it into a home for himself and the people of Milan. It was the Dolce Vita era, populated by a jet set crowd that made its mark. We keep a very close eye on the trends that come and go over time, we respect them, and we adopt any elements that suit our style, but deep down we don’t change. Our customers have made their choices, and we’re part of that, and very proud to be so. The history of the Negroni and it’s “alternative” cousin, invented by my father, is part of the history of Italy that appears in the books featuring this cocktail, in the interviews we give to magazines from all over the world. And so when we create a new cocktail, we take inspiration from historical events and their impact on society. The ingredients are part of the country’s history. Milan is a city known for the aperitivo, for fashion, for the Italian-style cocktail culture. The Negroni Sbagliato epitomises this, and has become popular across the world. The Negroni Sbagliato was born when my father accidentally used a bottle of Prosecco instead of Gin. There has never been a more perfect accident, and this is part of my history.

What’s the connection between Maurizio Stocchetto and Cherry Heering?

I remember the early days of my career at my father’s bar very clearly, the bottles of Cherry Heering elegantly arranged on the shelves. But I’d already come across Cherry Heering as a child. I collected small bottles given to me by my father, and the first of these were Heering bottles. I still have them. I like to take inspiration from historical events when creating my drinks. In 1866, Jean Baptiste Clément – a French composer, poet and musician – wrote a song called “The time of cherries”. Clément was also a member of the Paris Commune. The piece became a very famous French classic, and was covered by other artists including Yves Montand and Edith Piaf. The cherries in that song remind me of Heering’s cherries, the freshness of the composer’s ideas makes me think of the freshness of Heering. I dedicated this drink to the poet, and called it The Communard.

The Communard

1/10 Dry Vermouth

7/10 Vodka

2/10 Cherry Herring

Glass: Cocktail

Method: Stir ingredients and pour into a glass

Garnish: piece of orange peel in the shape of a moustache (a tribute to Jean Baptiste Clément’s moustache) and a cherry.